Bescanó: a quiet Ter-river town at the gateway to Girona

What Bescanó is really like: a quiet Ter-river town just west of Girona, a low-key base for the Costa Brava, the Garrotxa volcanoes and Girona city.

Granollers: La Porxada, markets and the capital of the Vallès Oriental

What Granollers is really like: a lively Vallès market town near Barcelona, with the historic La Porxada hall, museums and Montseny nearby.

What Foios is really like: a Valencian huerta town just north of the city, in tiger-nut orxata country, with the Albufera and beaches nearby.

What Santpedor is really like: a walled medieval Bages town near Manresa, birthplace of Pep Guardiola, with Montserrat an easy day trip.

What Alzira is really like: a historic island town on the Júcar river, ringed by old walls and orange groves in the Ribera Alta of Valencia.

What Elda is really like: the capital of Spain’s shoe industry, with a footwear museum and a restored Vinalopo castle near the Costa Blanca.

What Los Barrios is really like: gateway to the Los Alcornocales cork forest and Palmones estuary, near the Strait of Gibraltar.

What Alhama de Murcia is really like: an old thermal-spa town with a hilltop castle and gateway trails into the Sierra Espuña mountains.

What Onda is really like: the Castle of the 300 Towers, a famous tile museum and a huge natural-science collection in the Costa de Azahar hills.

What Coín is really like: a green Guadalhorce-valley town of citrus groves, springs and whitewashed streets inland from the Costa del Sol.